Man United Sack Manager Erik Ten Hag And Appoint Van Nistelrooy As Interim Manager

 

This morning, the club confirmed in a press statement that they have relieved manager Erik Ten Hag of his duties after an underwhelming start to the season. United sit 14th in the Premier League table, scoring 8 and conceding 11. They also drew all 3 Europa League games and sit 21st in the Europa table. 

The club statement read "Erik Ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men's first-team manager. Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well in the future.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited."

The sacking of the manager has caused mixed feelings among United fans with many still supporting the manager though many also feel it is high time for a change of manager following the recent bad start to the season. After winning the FA Cup at Wembley against City last season, Ten Hag was given another contract and a chance to keep his job however today marks 116 days after signing the new contract, the manager was also backed with 5 new signings during the summer however they have all struggled to make a lasting impression on the team. The club confirmed that the decision to sack the manager was a collective decision from both Ineos and the Glazers, it will be interesting to see where the club moves on from here and who will be given the permanent job of managing United.   

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Brentford Fail To Handle United's Fiery Second Half Comeback

 

The bookmakers once again reported that the game against Brentford last weekend might be Ten Hag's last game in charge of United if his team ended up having a bad performance and for the first twenty minutes it looked like it might be that way, but the team gradually recovered and eventually won the game after being a goal down. Here are the talking points from the match.

Brentford Score Controversial Opener

After an early purple patch, United was eventually able to pin the Bees back and Garnacho tested Fleken a few times, however, the most notable event in the first half was De Ligt busting his head open trying to make a challenge in the 11th minute which eventually led to Brentford's opener. The United medical staff were either in a hurry or just incompetent because it took three attempts to stop the bleeding from De Ligt's head, the third which left United a man down and without their best header of the ball, allowing Brentford center back Pinnock to head the ball into the net from a corner, the goal sent De Ligt, Van Nistelrooy and Ten Hag into rage, the latter earning a yellow card each for their remarks. The Referee was right to send De Ligt away as the law states that no bleeding player was allowed to be on the field, but Ten Hag argued that it was dried-up blood from before. The United players and staff all felt the goal was unfair and the response in the second half was so good Brentford had no reaction of any type.

Garnacho, Rashford And Hojlund Combination

The front three of  United were on fire all game, Hojlund with his hold-up play created a lot of space for Garnacho, allowing him to take on Van De Berg 1v1, the Brentford right-back ran his socks off to keep up with Garnacho, unfortunately, he could not stop the Argentinian from equalizing for United through a pinpoint cross from Rashford who created the most chances throughout the game. Hojlund got the second goal against the run of play, Martinez intercepted a pass and took his time to fine Eriksen who drilled a pass straight into Fernandes, the skipper flicked the ball into the path of Rasmus Hojlund who dinked Fleken with a deft finish. United had another chance to finish off Brentford when Rashford provided Zirkzee with a one-on-one, unfortunately, the Dutchman decided to take a touch instead of a shot allowing the ball to run away from him. The second half from United proved that if the players put enough effort and zeal, the usual problems that seem to come out of nowhere would come to an end.       

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Match Preview: Ten Hag To Take Charge Of Man United Against Brentford

 

Another international break is over, it's just the second one, and there's another to come next month, but I'm sure we are all sick of them now. Many will say that we United fans will not be happy about the break-ending but that's completely not true, everyone wants to see their club play again after such a horrible two weeks, and no matter how much the media milk the stories from Man United, the time has still not come to hit the panic button and Ineos proved that after the monthly executives meeting which the media alleged will spell the end of Ten Hag's time as manager. Nothing like that happened and ironically the United manager who had his contract terminated was Sir Alex, though he's was for his role as an ambassador of the club, Ten Hag is still manager and he held a press conference today where he as usual faced questions about his job.

Ten Hag On His Future And Critics

Erik Ten Hag has accused the media of creating "fairy tales" surrounding his job, saying his job was never in jeopardy. "The noise is only coming from the media, from you guys. From some of you, not all of you, but some of you. Bringing up stories, creating stories, creating fairytales, making noises, bringing lies."

"Of course, we are discussing the position where we are, that we are unhappy in the position where we are and we have to turn the corner, what has to happen with a strategy to turn this corner. But ultimately we are quiet, we are composed, we stay where we are, we stick to the plan and we are very convinced we will make it a success."

Team News And Injuries

The recent international break has brought up a lot of bad news in terms of player fitness and injuries, as Maguire and Mainoo are set to take a few weeks on the sidelines after sustaining injuries at the game against Villa. But Mazraoui who initially said to be out for 2 months is back and available for tomorrow's game. The manager has this to say "Injuries do not help, for sure, you need players available to perform. Kobbie and Harry are out for a couple of weeks, but Mazraoui is good news. He has returned to the training pitch and is available for tomorrow. The boss has also praised the recent resurgence of Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen saying he is very happy with the Dane's performance so far, "Lately he proved himself within the team with Kobbie and proved they can be a good couple. He's had a good season so far and is important for the team, linking key passes, being creative and composed, and calm. I'm very happy with his performance.

On The Return Of Malacia And Luke Shaw

Left-back has been a problematic position for United since the start of last season, Malacia sustained a season-long injury which he still hasn't recovered from and Luke Shaw's old injury problem resurfaced meaning United played for weeks without a recognized left-back, several players had filled the void but Dalot has done particularly well from that position over the weeks. Ten Hag has however confirmed that both players are very much on their way back to the team, "We can't force their return and have to do it cleverly. We don't want them to return and quickly drop out, but of course, we hope they come back as soon as possible because this team needs a left-back 

 

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Kobbie Mainoo Player Profile: Manchester United Statistics

Kobbie Boateng Mainoo (born 19 April 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Mainoo is a graduate of Manchester United's youth system and won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2023. He made his first-team debut in an EFL Cup match in January 2023. Mainoo played for England from under-17 youth level, before making his debut for the senior team in March 2024. 

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Antony Player Profile: Manchester United Statistics

 

Antony Matheus dos Santos (born 24 February 2000), known mononymously as Antony, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Premier League club Manchester United and the Brazil national team.

Antony graduated from the São Paulo academy and made his senior debut for the club in 2018. He moved abroad to Ajax in the summer of 2020, where he won two Eredivisie titles and one KNVB Cup during his two seasons. Antony's performances in the Netherlands led to a transfer worth €95 million (£82 million) to Manchester United, the highest sum paid for an Eredivisie player.

Antony won a gold medal with the Brazil under-23 team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He then made his senior international debut and scored against Venezuela in October 2021, going on to represent Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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Amad Diallo Player Profile: Manchester United Statistics

  Amad Diallo (born 11 July 2002), sometimes as Amad, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a winger or midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Ivory Coast national team.

Born in the Ivory Coast, Amad moved to Italy as a child. He joined the Atalanta youth system in 2015, where he won two Campionato Primavera 1 titles. In 2019, he scored on his debut for the senior team, making him the first player born in 2002 to score in Serie A. In January 2021, Amad joined English club Manchester United. He had loan spells at Rangers and Sunderland.

Amad made his senior international debut for the Ivory Coast in March 2021, in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game.

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Ten Hag Appears To Have Passed His Media Assigned Trials

Many would have already assigned the game at Villa Park as Ten Hags' last game in charge of United or more accurately the games against Villa and Porto, the only problem though is that he didn't lose both games instead earning a draw in both, the noise you are still hearing are all sustained by the horror show against Tottenham at Old Trafford a week ago. Against Villa United adopted a compact shape, not allowing Villa to play through the middle and it was indeed a bit comical seeing the Villa players try to force their way through the United midfield and drive towards goal, fortunately, the players have all learned their lessons and the embarrassing circumstances of the Tottenham opening goal did not repeat itself. United legend Paul Scholes, however, does not like the fact that United will go to Villa and sit back hoping to play on the counterattack, but as much as he disapproves, United is still not in any shape to commandeer the game yesterday.

Bruno And Rashford Hit Woodwork And Maguire/Evans Partnership

As much as Scholes didn't like the tactics Ten Hag used on Sunday it was still very effective as Villa were reduced to only 1 shot on target and 11 attempts, compared to United's usual numbers this was an extravagant upgrade. Many would have been surprised by the inclusion of Maguire and Evans at the heart of the defense, but based on the performance of Martinez and De Ligt in recent games this does not come as a surprise, Maguire did not manage to finish the game, Evans went all the way and onto a man of the match award. The attack was also sharp as well with Rashford bringing out two good saves out of Martinez, with the second grazing the crossbar, Fernandes also came close, hitting the crossbar from a dead ball.

Compared to United's recent perfomances this was an upgrade and hopefully the sporting board who were flanked by Sir Jim Rattcliff yesterday will give Ten hag the time he needs to sustain positive and effective change in the club.

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Man United vs Porto Match Review

  Was their any believe that United could turn a new page after the chaos against Spurs, definetly as a fan, you always wanna see your team do well. When United scored two goals in quick successsion, that believe was starting to fester into something tangible but it was snuffed out just as quickly.

The game at Porto was of two sides of a coin, the bad aspects were just as prominent as the good, by the 20th-minute mark United was 2 nil up, but instead of cruising, they shrank and sank. By 35 minutes it was 2-2 and it didn't get any better. 10 minutes into the second half, United lost the ball in attack, and something we've already become familiar with last season and also seen glances of this season, happened, an opposition player running through United's open midfield leading to a goal.

United have been making great progress this season but silly mistakes have cost the team a lot, thereby making all the progress null. If such mistakes are not addressed as soon as possible, it might cost Ten Hag his job.

Fernandes Red Card And Maguire Equalizer

When Talking of silly mistakes, it will be hard to forget about how Fernandes who has never seen a red card in his career, suddenly has two in two games. The first was rightly canceled but Fernandes did not help himself at Porto, forcing the referee to brandish a second yellow card for the same foul, a high boot. One goal down and one man down, United needed a miracle, they needed a goal and the former Captain Maguire stepped up literally, pressing down his maker and nodding in Eriksen's delivery from a corner. He might have just kept Ten Hag a little bit longer.

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Manchester United vs Aston Villa Match Preview

 

Villa are a team that Erik Ten Hag has beaten 4 times out of the last 5, but if you did bet United to win today, you will be labelled mad by your mates and quite rightly so, United have been poor this season and once again the managers position is a hot topic and many believe he will be sacked soon as the Ineos executives have scheduled a meeting on Teusday to discuss the teams progress and weight their options.

The game at Villa Park will be a chance for Erik Ten Hag to convince United fans and most importantly the Sporting chiefs that when given enough time he will turn things around, now if history has taught us anything, it is that when the pressure reaches it's climax like this, the Dutchman always manages to find a way. At Porto being a goal down, the manager brought in Maguire and Evans, as ironic as that sounds, Maguire did score the equalizer at the end of stoppage time.

Ten Hag will need a perfect game without blemish and all his players will have to give a 100 percent today, Villa are a team that beat Bayern Munich quite recently, they've tasted the blood of one European gaint and they will be hungry for another, stopping them will be an extremely hard job.

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A Chance For Redemption: Man United vs Porto

 

The game today is indeed a chance for redemption, most or maybe all will think of the manager when reading this headline, but I aim for both the manager and the players. Patrice Evra pointed out on Sky Sports that whenever United reaches this stage, where if we don't win Ten Hag gets sacked, the manager always manages to pull the rabbit out of the hat, so we will be expecting a huge response from both players and manager today. 

Ten Hag Confident Of His Position

As usual, whenever Man United loses, the story is that Ten Hag's job is in jeopardy and he can face the sack anytime, the bookmakers immediately start compiling their stories which always involves manufacturing a favorite out of thin air. This time the magic word is Inzhagi, the Inter manager who has done well since his appointment, winning the Scudetto and reaching the Champions League final two years ago. Regardless of what the bookmakers say and how bad United was on Sunday, Ten Hag's job is still safe, some even believe that a loss against Porto and Villa might still not mean the sack for Ten Hag, that is how much Ineos means to support the manager who they chose to stick with at the end of last season. Ten Hag himself might have confirmed that after his interview with Sky Sports, where he spoke on his relationship with Ineos, "We are talking continually. We are talking about how we can improve the process". When asked whether he will still be the manager if things don't go well in the next two games, this was his response, "I'm not thinking about it, I'm not anxious. We are together. We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership. We made this agreement and we were all behind it. We also know the strategy (is to bring in) young players in a transition period. They also know in the end when we are in May, in all my last six seasons, always there were trophies. That is what we are also aiming for".

Team News

The recent team news provides for a good read, the red card shown to Bruno will of course put the team in jeopardy not immediately though as it does not affect his Europa League prospects, but it was recently confirmed that the red card had been overturned after a successfull appeal meaning the skipper is now available for the three games he was suppose to miss. Mason Mount has once again picked up an injury after a violent head clash last Sunday, Mainoo trained with the squad after limping off on Sunday and Maguire is also back in contention, that leaves the others, Shaw, Malacia who according to the manager will be available after the international break.

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Casemiro Player Profile: Manchester United Satatistics

 

Carlos Henrique Casemiro (born 23 February 1992), also known mononymously as Casemiro, is a Brazillian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Brazil national team. Regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation, he is known for his defensive abilities, ball-winning skills, and tackling during his time at Real Madrid. 

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Alejandro Garnacho Player Profile: Manchester United Satistics

 

Alejandro Garnacho Ferreyra (born 1 July 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Manchester United. Born in Spain, he plays for the Argentinian national team. Garnacho joined Manchester United's youth system from Atletico Madrid in October 2020. He won the FA Youth Cup and the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the year award in May 2022. The month prior, he had made his first team debut at age 17.

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Hojlund Player Profile: Manchester United Statistics

 

Rasmus Winter Hojlund, born 4 February 2003 is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. Hojlund graduated from Copenhagen's youth academy, making his first-team debut for the club Sturm Graz in January 2022. Later that year, he was signed by Atalanta for 17 million Euros. Holland played youth international football for Denmark from under-16 to under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in September 2022.

                                                      

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Kobbie Mainoo, Mount And Maguire Injury Update And Fernandes Red Card

 

Kobbie Mainoo, Mount and Maguire Injuries

The game at Old Trafford on Sunday against Spurs will quite rightly bring a lot of bad memories to United fans, among which the visual of Kobbie Mainoo limping off to the dressing most have brought up another gust of panic among the Old Trafford faithful and those of us watching at home. The midfielder has managed to etch his name into the long list of great academy graduates coming out of Carrington, through an article released today the club confirmed that both Mainoo and Maguire who missed the Spurs game due to a minor knock will be available for the game against FC Porto after both players took part in the final training session before the players will fly to Portugal later. However the club also confirmed that Mason Mount missed the session as a precaution following the head wound he sustained after a collision with Tottenham's Dragusin, the good news as confirmed by the club statement is that he did not suffer a concussion therefore has a good chance of been available for Thursday's game.

United win Appeal For Fernandes Red Card 

Another bad memory from the Spurs game was the red card shown to skipper Bruno Fernandes, it was the first red card of his Man United career. The decision to give Fernandes a red card was followed by a gust of disapproval from Fernandes himself who was also backed by retired referees Dermot Gallagher and Keith Hackett. United filed an appeal to protest the decision and it was confirmed that the red card had been overturned meaning the playmaker would not miss any games due to the decision, a statement from United read "Bruno Fernandes will be available for Manchester United's next three games following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal... Fernandes was set to miss our league fixtures against Aston Villa, Brentford, and West Ham but will now be available for selection following a successful appeal". 

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